Unborn Tomorrow

“It’s 9 pm, hand over the remote” she said. Curiosity was killing her. The whole day, she was thinking about it, venomously cursing all the characters who could possibly be the perpetrator. All the while, he has been noticing her. Her zaniness brought a smile on his face. “Mom, it is just a TV show. They can change the storyline anytime. Why do you suffer so much?” he asked amusingly. “You do not know the ordeals women have to go through. It’s always been a man’s world even though the world is said to have progressed” she said dishearteningly.

There was an unwritten pact between him and her. He got to watch television till 9 pm, after which she takes over.  She watches three shows back to back. In the morning while doing her chores, she thinks about the characters and how the stories will move forward. During lunch, when she discusses with him, he has seen her messing up the storyline and the characters. Correcting her, he said “Mom, you have got it wrong. Don’t you know that this character is not a part of the show which you are talking about? He is the part of the next show”. Immediately, he chuckled “What is wrong with me? I am following these unrealistic TV shows. I need to find ways not to waste my time watching them with her”.

However, he always enjoyed watching the shows with her. She cursed, she cried, she laughed along with the characters. “She is such a pure, innocent soul” he thought. Once she is done with the shows, she goes to the kitchen to make sure that it is clean and the new day can be welcomed with a hot, strong tea. After that, while she calls it a day, he continues to watch television.

“Didn’t I tell you? He was always mean to her. He deserved the punishment. It is called Karma” she said beamingly. “Mom, this is insanely crazy. The fictional show makes you so happy!” he said.  “Here is the remote. Tomorrow, we will come to know how the story will unfold from now. Let me go to bed” she said. “Have you already done with your kitchen chores?” he asked. “Yes, I did. I am feeling little tired. I have been anxious all the while. Now I can sleep peacefully.” she chuckled.  

The next day morning when he got up, he saw her sleeping peacefully from a distance. “Why hasn’t she woken up? These shows are really ruining her health. Let me make the tea and then wake her up” he thought. The kitchen was pristine clean. “It’s been ages since I made tea for her. I need to do it more often” he thought.  He went near her and saw a hidden smile on her face. When he touched to wake her up, she was all cold and numb!

Unwarranted Expectation

Two decades back they had met each other at college. Within no time, they became the closest of friends. She liked his humor and his general attitude towards life. “Everything seems so simple for him. He never cribbed anything about life. He took each day as it comes.” she signed.  She was very aloof, extremely diligent and studious. Her seriousness towards life and her dedication to whatever things she awed him. “Within that diffident, reticent girl lives another fun-loving woman. “he thought.

They left college, got busy with their respective lives. Like any relationship, they had their share of ups and downs. But every time they got back together within no time. They were not regularly in touch, however, whenever they talked, they could start from wherever they left previously.

He met the girl of his dreams and decided to take his relationship to the next level.  She came to know about it through another friend of theirs. She felt miserable. She thought “Why didn’t he tell me? It’s an important decision in his life and all the while during our conversations, he kept it hidden from me.” She expressed her displeasure to him. He said “I was about to say to you. It was not intentional.”  That was all she needed, no other explanations or arguments after that.

Days passed, years passed. She frequented him and his family whenever possible. The warmth they shared, transpired to his family as well. More good things happened to his life. In some instances, she came to know about them through their friends or through his wife. She wondered “Why didn’t he tell me? Does he even value me?” She confronted him but he had reasons for everything. He had no issues with her, whatsoever. 

There came a day when his hard work was recognized by his fraternity. The news was broken to her by his wife. Instead of being happy for success, she got upset and dialed his wife. She told her “Why is that I am always the last person to know about him.” Before his wife could answer her, she hung up. After a while, when everything had settled, she thought “What did I just do? I feel ashamed of myself. How can I face her? She always has been the peacemaker. Also, he has been consistently inconsistent. I should have just accepted him the way he is. Sometimes we create our own heartbreaks through expectation!”  She texted his wife an apology.

Work Nirvana

At work, she opened her inbox. She was flabbergasted to see several emails that were generated in the last fifty minutes. She never felt so important at her workplace. Chat messages popped up on her system asking her to join the ongoing escalation call. She had seen this issue earlier and had reported it. “No one took any actions then. Work in my office gets done only during escalations.” she sighed.

When the customer escalated it as a service impacting issue, he needed someone to bear the brunt. He had seen her email earlier, he handpicked her to face the heat. “She had raised this issue, why didn’t she fix it?” he thought.  All he wanted was a cover up for his negligence and due diligence. He overlooked her statements in the emails that she had written asking for help.

She joined the call, everyone was taking her name. “Who are they? Why do they keep asking me the status? I know the issue but I don’t know the fix” she thought.  Every two minutes, they were asking her for updates. She pinged him, he never responded. She was on the call throughout the day, with absolute no progress. She needed help but no one seems to understand her predicament.

By late evening, he joined the call. He pinged her on her messenger stating that the issue has been escalated to CEO and he will join the call. She replied, “It's good, the more, the merrier!” He was taken aback by her response. She chuckled “All the while he was blind, deaf and mute to my request. It doesn’t matter whoever joins the call. If I don’t know, I don’t know.”

 

Poem Sans Letter E

A trip, waiting for so long
Days will pass, nothing will go wrong
Good food, charming hosts and brilliant stay
Amidst folks I know, I will pass my days

Encounter with Nadal

She was startled by my sudden embrace
Her eyes, so green, gave a steady gaze
For my touch had left her in a daze
She flipped over, ready for the chase

She wasn’t certain of my intention
She looked for help, for intervention
As she looked at me with great attention
I could sense her coyness and her tension

I stretched my hand for her to sense
She smelled me, gave up her defense
As I caressed her warm and thick fur
She welcomed it with a gentle purr

For she is Nadal, the timid cat
Once she knows you, she is a tiny little brat!

How He Changed My Life!

I was very averse to Bollywood movies while growing up, to such an extent that I didn’t know any of the major stars in the Hindi filmdom. I remember watching my first Bollywood movie “Saajan” in the theater with my sister and her friends.  From the excitement that they showed, I garnered the fact that the lead actress was numero uno.  I was waiting with baited breath for intermission, by the end of the movie, I was yawning.

After my first tryst with Bollywood movies, I decided not to watch any. However, my vow didn’t last long. During the summer vacation in the same year, I was forced to watch “Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander”, as my sister didn’t have any company.  By the end of the movie, I told my sister “The hero is cute, one song is good”.  However, I made my stand clear that I don’t enjoy Bollywood movies.

During the good old Doordarshan days, the TV series aired were of very good quality and content.  It was during those times, a young energetic actor had caught the viewer’s attention. He made appearances in TV series like Fauji, Circus etc. His looks were quite average but there was something about him, his charisma, very magical and magnetic. As an avid viewer of TV, this actor caught my attention. I used to wait for his episodes.

As I was not following any news about movies and its actors, I didn’t know that the same actor has signed his first Bollywood movie.  After my 10th grade examination, I got to watch his movies “Baazigar”, “Darr” and “Deewana” in quick succession.  When he talked, he smiled, he cried, he danced, my heart pounded faster.  For the first time in my life, I started enjoying Bollywood movies. He made it huge in Hindi filmdom and became the reigning “Romantic” hero.

I started following his interviews, his movies.  I was literally stalking him. His pictures adorned my bedroom walls and wardrobes. The computer’s hard drive had a folder full of his pictures and songs from his movies. Anyone could guess what my computers’ wallpaper, screensaver, and Windows login password would be. I started fantasizing about him. For me, he was a paragon, an epitome of perfection.

During my twenties, he ruled my head and heart.  I was so enamored by his quick wit, his gift of the jab and his intellect that I was looking for the same qualities in all the guys who came into my life.  As I entered my thirties, a period of normalcy settled in. His success story being very inspirational, a man with no godfather makes it big due to his tireless passion and insane energy.

There can be one and only one person, erudite and eloquent who keeps entertaining, enticing and exciting me all these years. His name is Shah Rukh Khan.

Gracias!

Enchanted Encounter!

She had never interacted with him. He was her junior at work. They hardly had communicated outside work. While at work, it had been just exchanging pleasantries. Soon, she left the organization and there was no further communication between him and her.

Meanwhile, he shifted his job, left the country and moved to the US for greener pastures. Little did they know that their paths would cross again! They met at a restaurant.  It was more than a decade since they last met, however, they could easily recognize and remember each other’s name.  They learned that they were neighbors in the US. They exchanged phone numbers and decided to catch up some other time.

They met again. He did all the talking, while she listened to him attentively. She had picturized him in a certain way but he turned out to be totally opposite. Back home, he was quite reserved, but in the new city, new country, he was rediscovering himself. He made new friends and was extremely extroverted. “He is quite garrulous but he is interesting.” she thought.

One fine day, she wanted a break from her routine, mundane life. She texted him asking about his evening plans. He was surprised to see her message but responded back by asking whether she was interested in a Friday night rendezvous. With no further hesitation, she decided to join him. He was taken aback.

 “I have never done it before and never will I. I don’t want to miss this opportunity” she thought. He took her to a pub. He introduced her to all his friends. Everyone had interesting stories about him. His friends were like him, extremely easy going and entertaining.  She hit it off with his friends. He thought “Was she like this all the while? I have seen her being very serious and reserved at the office. She seems to be an enigma”.

Together, they did pub-crawling, enjoying each other’s company, quite oblivious of the surroundings. They held hands and in an inebriated state, danced the night away!